Once again, we traveled by bus to Santiago. It took approximately 11 hours with a solid chunk consumed at the border crossings. The views of this trip were mesmerizing climbing out of the Argentinian desert up and over the Andes into Santiago at sunset. The bus guys were very friendly, but the consistent insistence for tips cleared us out of our few remaining Argentinian pesos. Once in Santiago, it was effortless to get around on their metro system.


We wandered the city on foot + subway taking breaks for ice cream, empanadas, & the traditional Chilean cocktail called Terremoto. The name fittingly describes how dizzy it makes you feel when standing up after consuming one. We were warned to not consume more than 2 a person. It's made of white wine, pineapple sorbet, grenadine & fernet. On a separate day from the Terramotos, we hiked up to Cerro San Cristobal; it reminded us of an undeveloped Twin Peaks with cable cars.


Our host, Ivan at Ventana Sur Hostel, made our stay amazing & super hard to leave. Both nights, he & his friends treated us to great dinners & conversations over many bottles of wine late into the night. We even tried a new (to us) varietal of wine - Carmenere; this varietal was thought to be extinct for 150 years but was rediscovered in Chile years later & is now one of their specialties.


Reading

  • Kelsey: Circe by Madeline Miller
  • Kyle: The Old Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux

Listening To